China probe makes history, lands on far side of the moon

Beijing, Jan 3 (IBNS): China's Chang'e-4 on Thursday became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the far side of the moon - the side not visible from Earth, Xinhua reported.

"It was a great challenge with the short time, high difficulty and risks," Xinhua quoted Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, as saying.

A lander and a rover was part of the probe that landed in the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin at 10.26am Beijing time.

A camera on the probe took pictures of the surrounding area as it landed on the moon's surface.

"It was a great challenge fulfilled in a short time, and with high difficulty and risks." Check out these breathtaking photos of Chinese lunar probe Chang'e-4's 12-minute landing on a crater on the far side of the moon https://t.co/hSm6uZsDcEpic.twitter.com/GeItoxhMX9

"We chose a vertical descent strategy to avoid the influence of the mountains on the flight track," said Zhang He, executive director of the Chang'e-4 probe project, from the China Academy of Space Technology.

According to Xinhua, the probe took pictures and identified obstacles to find a suitable site for landing. The landing happened over 12 minutes without any manual intervention.